ASHP Publishes Guidelines on Pharmacist Involvement in HIV Care

PRESS RELEASE

ASHP has published new guidelines on pharmacist involvement in HIV care in the April 1 edition of AJHP, ASHP’s peer-reviewed, scholarly publication. The “ASHP Guidelines on Pharmacist Involvement in HIV Care” describe the pharmacist’s role on the patient-care team and are available ahead of print on AJHP’s website.

The new guidelines from ASHP detail the ways in which pharmacists can contribute to the care of HIV-infected patients as part of an interprofessional healthcare team. Using primary literature, therapeutic and practice guidelines, national and international standards, and the consensus of experts in the field, the authors of these guidelines summarize the available evidence for traditional and emerging pharmacist roles to address current and future challenges of the U.S. HIV epidemic.

The new ASHP guidelines have been endorsed by the American Academy of HIV Medicine, an independent organization of HIV specialists and HIV care providers dedicated to promoting excellence in HIV/AIDS care and to ensuring better care for those living with AIDS and HIV infection.

In an AJHP editorial accompanying the guidelines, Alice K. Pau, Pharm.D.; H. Clifford Lane, M.D.; and Henry Masur, M.D., argue that pharmacists “continue to be indispensable members of HIV care teams” and that the guidelines “provide a framework for the scope of work pharmacists can perform to provide care for HIV-infected patients.”

The “ASHP Guidelines on Pharmacist Involvement in HIV Care” address in detail the involvement of pharmacists in 10 key aspects of HIV prevention, care, and treatment:

• HIV testing

• Treatment of HIV infection

• Treatment of HIV in key patient populations

• HIV treatment failure

• Management of HIV disease state complications

• Treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections

• Prevention of HIV infection

• HIV education

• Social services and HIV infection

• Professional engagement

“The new guidelines on pharmacist involvement in HIV care emphasize the pharmacist’s vital role as an established and integral member of the patient-care team,” said ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, Pharm.D., Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP. “From prevention of HIV infection to the treatment and management of HIV infection and its complications, pharmacists are uniquely qualified to contribute to all components of HIV care.”

“Pharmacists may find these guidelines helpful in expanding their services in various healthcare settings to meet the needs of patients afflicted with AIDS and HIV,” according to Jason J. Schafer, Pharm.D., M.P.H., BCPS, AAHIVP, lead author of the HIV guidelines and assistant professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Jefferson School of Pharmacy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. “Pharmacists’ involvement in the care of patients with HIV has been consistently associated with improved patient outcomes, and these new guidelines provide an essential tool for pharmacists to better serve their patients.”

The “ASHP Guidelines on Pharmacist Involvement in HIV Care” are also available on ASHP’s Best Practices website.